DFW Airport Wants Business From Private Jets to Soar

Preparations for next year's Super Bowl are taking off at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

More than 1,000 corporate or private jets are expected to arrive in the Dallas-Fort Worth area when the Super Bowl comes to Arlington, and the airport wants a piece of the pie.

"Certainly, with the new Cowboys Stadium being built, our traffic has increased," said Paul Martinez, assistant vice president of the airport's operations. "We've seen that in the last six to eight months, no doubt Super Bowl will bring a lot of activity."

Airport executives are planning a $3 million renovation to the mothballed American Eagle terminal. The renovated terminal would accommodate 70 corporate jets, 40 more than it can handle now. The project would create a road directly to the terminal and include renovations of the building.

"We make about $1.8 million on a very modest general aviation base of activity," said James Crites, DFW Airport executive vice president. "We're seeing with this project, at a minimum, more than doubling that activity."

Crites said DFW Airport has been much more focused on its two major hub carriers, American Airlines and Delta, than general aviation, but it is changing its tune.

"We've been closed to corporate activity, and the industry knows this," Crites said. "So, what we want to say is that we are open for business."

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